The story of LSU’s season has been close, but not quite.
Between five different games where the Tigers have closed a 20-point deficit to single digits, none have been quite as heartbreaking as Tuesday’s loss to Florida.
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The Tigers faced a deficit of 20 in the second half, but they tied the game at 78-78 before ultimately falling 82-80.
On LSU’s final possession, Jordan Wright received a wide open pass from floater range but rushed the shot, resulting in a short-armed miss that he attempted to grab and put in. That shot, too, was no good, and LSU once again was maddeningly close — but not close enough.
LSU also had a chance to take the lead down one with 25 seconds left, but Jalen Cook lost his handle. Florida took it the distance to extend the lead to three.
Despite a Wright layup and a fortuitous Florida miss from the free throw line, the Tigers couldn’t seal the deal, leading to their sixth loss in their last seven games. LSU is now 4-7 in Southeastern Conference play.
As close as many of those games have been, LSU’s postseason odds continue to diminish as the team has struggled to get over the hump against quality teams. The Tigers have undoubtedly improved from last season, but there’s still a long way to go to compete with the top of an ever-improving SEC.
Inch by inch, LSU is getting closer — closer than ever against Florida — but it hasn’t resulted in wins just yet.
Defensive turnaround fuels comeback
In the first half, LSU struggled to make anything difficult for Florida. The Gators boast a guard rotation with four players averaging 11 points or more, and the execution was flawless for them early.
The guards scored it themselves or got the bigs involved with passes for easy opportunities at the rim. Anything and everything worked. The spacing and ball movement was on point for Florida, and LSU didn’t disrupt that with any sort of physicality.
Compounding that issue was LSU’s difficulty to make things easier for its defense by making shots. When LSU missed shots or turned the ball over, Florida ran to exploit a backpedaling defense. Overall, the Gators flat out ran harder and beat LSU down the court. That created frequent advantages for Florida.
In the second half, that changed. The Tigers employed a 1-3-1 zone defense to force Florida to settle for tough shots, which was the main reason for the comeback. As LSU strung together stops, it gave the offense momentum to close the gap.
In the first half, Florida made its field goals at a 66.7% clip, which fell to 34.2% in the second half.
LSU was also remarkably disciplined on defense, something that hasn’t often been true. Florida only went to the free throw line nine times in the second half, including twice because of the intentional foul at the end.
Will Baker leads the way, but LSU goes with other options late
Center Will Baker tied for the team lead with 16 points, but, for the second straight game, he almost entirely disappeared in the second half, with only three points and two shot attempts.
Baker played five minutes in the second frame, despite having just one personal foul. Instead, the Tigers went with other options.
LSU opted to go with bigs Hunter Dean and Derek Fountain for most of the second half. Their defense has typically been reliably superior to Baker’s, and it’s hard to argue with the result. Both players have the size and mobility to be impactful as help defenders, as well as on the perimeter.
Offensively in the second half, LSU rode Wright and Cook, who had 16 and 12 points, respectively, despite quiet first frames. The perimeter approach on offense seemed necessary after a first half where LSU struggled to score inside against Florida’s length.
Even though Baker has scored in double digits in five straight games now, he still needs to make strides to become an impactful player for 40 minutes, especially on the defensive end.
What’s next?
LSU will next travel to South Carolina on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The Gamecocks are currently ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll and have had a meteoric rise after being the third-worst team in the SEC last year.
South Carolina now boasts a 21-3 record having gone 9-2 in the SEC with wins over Kentucky and Tennessee. The team has the top defense in the SEC in terms of points allowed, No. 15 in the nation.
The game will be another difficult one for the Tigers, but the Gamecocks’ offense does lag behind its defense, which could open an opportunity for LSU.
